


Tell me it isn’t tomorrow?

by Angelwingsl3 (Marie_Fanwriter)



Series: Shriyuk Time Loop [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Condoms, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Groundhog Day, ME1, Mentions of canon character death, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Snuggling, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:00:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27045394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Fanwriter/pseuds/Angelwingsl3
Summary: Set in chapter nine of Same Time Last Year, takes place before the Battle of the Citadel.All of their frustrations continued to build until the night before Illos, which was how she wound up sprawled across Nihlus’ chest late in the cycle. Around them, the Normandy hummed as she sped toward their goal.
Relationships: Nihlus Kryik/Female Shepard
Series: Shriyuk Time Loop [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905799
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	Tell me it isn’t tomorrow?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vampirepunks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirepunks/gifts).



> This is an addition to Shepard and Nihlus' story, spoilers for the main event.
> 
> A gift for [**Vampirepunks**](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirepunks/pseuds/vampirepunks) in my 100 followers giveaway on Tumblr! Beta read by [**Some_Writer**](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some_Writer), and art by [**Blueboxness**](https://blu-scribbles.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.
> 
> If you'd like to skip the smutty part, stop when the clothes start coming off and start again at the break. --

\---

**STYL**

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**Tell me it isn’t tomorrow?**

\---

With the course set and Illos looming, Shepard was at a loss for where to go. Her weapons were clean, her armour prepared, and the team as settled as they were going to be. She’d just finished talking to Joker. They’d reach the Mu relay in another six hours. Usually, around now, she would be sitting in her cabin-- waiting for the end. This round, however, that wasn’t quite possible. It wasn’t  _ her _ cabin.

A long sigh left the Commander’s lips, falling into the empty stairwell around her. As she descended to the crew deck, the temptation to visit Nihlus was growing stronger. In some of the other loops, Kaidan or Liara had come to her cabin searching for comfort. Now, she could understand where they were coming from. Without personal space, the draw of someone else’s called to her too. Or perhaps it was merely the company.

She gave the door a longing look but continued to her locker. Bothering Nihlus the night before the big mission seemed wrong. He might’ve been sleeping already or preparing in his solemn way. 

However, when she keyed in the passcode, Shepard was surprised to see one of Nihlus’ gloves sitting on the top shelf-- right at her eye level.

For a moment, she stared at the offending object. "How in the hell--" Before she could finish, she cut herself off. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that his glove was  _ inside _ her locker. She hadn’t put it there, and there was no reason for anyone else to have been in her space. It could only mean Nihlus broke in to leave it there. 

Taking the gauntlet, Shepard ran her fingers across the cold metal to inspect it. Other than the number of digits, a turian glove was much like a human’s would be. Heavier plating ran across the back of the hand, leaving the joints malleable. Battle had worn down the pads like calluses would build on your hands.

She’d yet to really feel Nihlus’ hands beyond the barest of touches after sparring matches and in stolen moments kissing like teenagers. With everything else going on, sex had been far from Shepard’s mind this cycle. An intangible goal between the rigours of the war against the Reapers, the simple joys of spending downtime with made-again friends, and learning to be a Spectre under Nihlus’ careful tutelage.

Perhaps, she should return the gauntlet. The Spectre might need it, Shepard reasoned on the way to the Captain’s quarters. And maybe, deep down in her heart of hearts, she hoped that it was his way to get her to come to him?

Shepard was about to ping the room when the door slid open for her, and Nihlus appeared in the entryway. "Hey, Shepard, the craziest thing happened. I can't find my--" she held up the missing glove, making him stop short. "Oh! You found it."

It didn’t take long for her to catch on with his impish smirk. She had been able to read him like a book for years now. From the flutter of his mandibles to the softness of his eyes, every part of his expression said openness.

"Of course, but I'm a little confused. See-- you're pretty tidy when it comes to your gear." Shepard took a step toward him, backing the taller soldier into his room. "Everything has its place, and to deviate from that could have consequences in the field, so-” she took another pace, and the door closed behind her. "I have to wonder how this managed to get mixed in with my things. It's not like you at all. I can't help but feel that this is-" he stopped backing up now and let her get close to him, close enough that she needed to look up to see his face. "--a trap?"

Nihlus’ mandible flared in a defiant smile.

“And if it is?” he asked, lowering his mouth to the edge of her jaw while taking the armour. Nihlus didn’t touch her yet, but his breath was warm and damp against her skin. The tiny hairs on the back of Shepard’s neck stood up in anticipation.

Her voice caught in her throat, and she had to swallow to find it again. “Suppose I’ll need to instigate a counterattack.”

Nihlus chuckled and left his arms at his sides while she traced up the length of them with her fingertips. The cloth of his black tunic was rough beneath her fingers as she’d found most turian fabrics to be. Tough so uncareful talons wouldn’t tear it. Right now, that wasn’t what she wanted against her. No, she wanted to feel the toughness of his plates instead. Thankfully, his clothing was reasonably self-explanatory. The clasps came apart under her touch, first at the neck and then along the diagonal seam across his chest.

When his breath hitched as she not-so-carefully tugged the cloth from his shoulders, Shepard felt a thrill run down her spine. She’d been with a turian before in one of the other loops, not Nihlus obviously, but it couldn’t be so different from him, could it?

The gauntlet hit the floor with his jacket, which left him in a sleeveless shirt, pants and boots. Just barely more clothing than he’d wear while they sparred. However, it was much more alluring than perhaps it should have been to Shepard in this context. The turian physique hadn’t done anything for her at the start of all of this. Now, she could appreciate the broadness of Nihlus’ shoulders and the trimness of his waist. The brilliant green of his eyes, she’d always been fond of-- especially so as she looked up and could see lust clouding them.

It was her partner’s move now. He finally touched his mouth to her jaw and pressed a handful of kisses along the trail to her mouth. “May I undress you?” he asked just before placing his first kiss against her lips. His voice already had that husky tone she recognized from one incredibly exciting sparring match.

“Please,” she mumbled and licked his lower mouth plate. His mandibles shifted into a wider grin as he began tugging at the buttons. Shepard shrugged her tunic off as well, leaving her in a black sports bra. 

When their tongues touched, they both moaned. The Commander’s arms found a comfortable place wrapped around Nihlus’ shoulders so she could massage the sensitive hide beneath his fringe, while he grabbed immediately for her waist.

And by the time they parted, Shepard felt short of breath. 

To say she was touch-starved might have been putting it lightly. Nihlus’ hands were massive compared to hers and so warm. When he flicked a hardening nipple through her bra, Shepard got a bit brave. “Enjoyed time with humans before, I take it?”

His mandible flicked playfully. “Naw, I’m just talented.”

Laughing, she traced the edge of his plated spine with her nails. “Liar.”

Nihlus’ eyes fluttered closed at her movement, and he groaned while pressing into it. “No. Mh- fuck. More than humans have breasts, you know.”

Somehow, the admission made Shepard grow bolder. She dropped her hands to his hips and directed Nihlus backward until he was resting against the desk by the door. He sat on the edge, making himself slightly shorter and easier to reach, considering their height differences. “Asari, then?” she asked while teasing the crests of his hips through the thin fabric. He bucked slightly into her. Apparently, she wasn’t the only touch-starved member of the  _ Normandy. _

“Asari. Maybe a quarian or two.” He wasn’t shy about his experience, and it didn’t bother the Commander-- she’d had her share of adventures. If anything, it thrilled her that she could be his first something. “You?”

Her lips twisted into a smirk as she rose on her tiptoes and licked his throat in a bold suggestion that she knew exactly what she was doing. “Guess,” she whispered huskily into his ear. 

Nihlus drew in a sharp breath, and his talons dimpled her skin. “Tease,” he mumbled. 

“Only if you want me to be,” came her coy response as she backed off to show him her wolfish grin. If she hadn’t been used to his speed while sparring, Shepard might’ve been jarred by the explosiveness of his movements. As fast as she could process, he’d spun them and picked her up by the hips to set her on the desk. It was reflexive that her legs wrapped around his waist. 

She squeezed. 

“ _ Spirits.” _ Nihlus dropped his crest to her forehead even as his hands found their way to her belt. The buckle came apart with a forceful tug, and Shepard was reasonably confident the button popping sound meant that these pants would need to be fixed later on. She pulled at his shirt, and they parted long enough for him to tear it off before he was on her mouth again. 

Like in the cargo bay, this session quickly became heated. Shepard knew her cheeks flushed, and she felt a rush of moisture come to her core. Her fumbling hands found his belt next while he struggled with her bra clasp. When they both had trouble, Nihlus slid back enough to see her face. 

“Trade?” he asked.

Shepard nodded, and she unfastened her bra while kicking off her boots as Nihlus fell into the desk chair to get his off as well. She shimmied out of her pants and into her partner’s lap the moment his belt was undone. Her hands smoothed across his broad chest, appreciating the man beneath the armour, and she could feel him doing the same as his palms caressed her thighs and squeezed the large muscles of her quads. 

When he made a contented noise, Shepard quirked her eyebrow as if to ask what that was for. And he wasn’t shy about replying. “I’ve heard humans were soft,” his fingers traced her inner thigh gently before returning to her thighs and ass to squeeze. “But you’re something else. I can feel the power underneath.”

The Commander wouldn’t admit to blushing often, but his comment made her blush bright pink. Instead of a reply, she found his mouth to kiss him again. Something Nihlus quite eagerly ate up. 

As time passed, she could feel his seam parting and then his length beginning to poke her belly. One of Shepard’s hands traced down the middle of his chest to caress his growing length, and Nihlus groaned into her mouth. His hips bucked against hers. 

“More?” he asked huskily. 

Shepard obliged him by wrapping her fingers around his member and starting to stroke. She kept her pressure firm and even across his slick length, enjoying the feel of him and nearly salivating at the thought of what she knew she could do to him. Her lips left his mouth, so Shepard could kiss down his throat as she left his lap. Nihlus reluctantly let go of her thighs as she began sliding lower. 

When she knelt in front of him, Nihlus’ chest was rising and falling rapidly. His eyes were half glazed with need. Had it been a tad cooler, she’d have been able to see his panted breaths in the air. Shepard watched him swallow as she very deliberately stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of his cock. 

Nihlus shuddered. “More.”

And how could she not give in to that request? Her mouth opened to take him in, and while she couldn’t fit more than a few inches comfortably, Shepard was experienced enough to know that she could wrap her fingers around his base to simulate taking him deeper. At first, Nihlus’ hands didn’t seem to know what to do, so she took them one at a time with her free hand to put them on her shoulders. She watched his face until his glazed eyes shut, and then she focused on his pleasure. 

It didn’t take much before his hands tightened, and he asked her to stop in a breathy and almost panicked way. Shepard could have laughed but managed to keep her amusement to herself beyond a small, prideful smile as she stood and kissed his mandible. 

“That was not at all like the vids said it would be,” Nihlus told her as he pulled her close. She could feel his cock twitch when it brushed her thigh. He was far from done. “Need a minute.”

She did chuckle at that. “Better than expected?”

“Mh-hm. Much.” He kissed her again. When he pulled back, he traced her hip crest with a single talon, leaving behind a small white line in her skin. “Perhaps I could return the favour?”

Again, her eyebrow raised. This time with a smirk. “You can try.”

Nihlus took that as a challenge, it seemed, as he stood and tossed her onto the bed with a little more force than was strictly necessary. Shepard squeaked as she hit the mattress and caught an eyeful of a predator pouncing on top of her. The noise quickly devolved into giggling as he trapped her hands with one of his and began teasing her neck with his tongue. His mandibles fluttering was ticklish. 

“What?” he mumbled against her skin. 

She squirmed. “Nothing.” Admitting to being ticklish would be her downfall, she knew it, so she kept quiet. “Just… lower. Please.” 

His breath against her skin made her shiver as he huffed a laugh. But Nihlus obliged and left her throat to tease collarbones and breasts before sinking between her thighs. Shepard could feel goosebumps appearing on her arms as he finally made it to her damp centre. She’d already soaked her panties through, and they came away with a gentle tug. They joined the pile of clothes on the floor shortly after, leaving them both nude as the day they were born. 

Nihlus carefully traced the pad of his finger along her seam, parting the lips as he lowered his mouth to taste her for the first time. Shepard gasped as she felt the first warm rasp of his tongue on her. All at once, her vision flooded with starbursts, and her throat went dry. 

“Damn.” She breathed into the cabin. 

“So open,” Nihlus mumbled as he began probing deeper to tease at her entrance. “So soft.” 

Shepard could only moan a subtle agreement as she grasped at the sheets. It had been far too long since she’d had anyone touch her like this, so intimately. Hell, last time she had sex, they’d skipped straight to the good part—damn foreplay. But here Nihlus was, drawing things out and trying to make her come before they joined. 

Before long, Shepard found herself in a similar state to Nihlus. Her hips rose in time with his mouth, and he held them down so that he could continue to devour her. Only, when she began to approach the edge did Nihlus double down. There was no way for her to escape, and she could only let her head fall back to enjoy the treatment as a single finger pushed into her and began to stroke her g-spot in time with his strokes.

Trembling, Shepard fell over the edge. Her whole body tensed as Nihlus worked her through the orgasm and dragged every ounce of pleasure possible from her core. When she came back to herself, Nihlus was watching her face from between her thighs and grinning. She could see the wet shine on his chin as he climbed back up her body and wiped his face on the back of one hand. 

“Been a little while, has it?” he asked cheekily. Shepard wanted to tease him back, but it didn’t feel quite right. Not now. Instead, she rolled her eyes, and Nihlus chuckled. “Glad I could help.”

Against her core, she could feel his cock twitch. “Seems like you could use a little assistance yourself,” she said while sneaking a hand between their bodies to stroke him. “If you’re up for it?”

“Mh-hm. Absolutely.” He pushed himself a little higher on his elbows and reached for the nightside table. “Condom?” he asked as he rummaged around for a moment before pulling one out. 

It wasn’t like she was risking pregnancy, but the thought was nice-- and there was the lingering rumour of incompatibility between species. So she said: “Sure.” 

Nihlus tore the package open with a talon and got ready while Shepard adjusted herself beneath him, resting her feet on the mattress, intertwined with his legs and spurs to keep him close. Even through the rubber, she could feel his warmth. 

When he resettled, Nihlus took his time kissing her silly again. Shepard nearly forgot about the minor delay as his taste consumed her. She could feel her cheeks warming and her core throbbing for more. When she wiggled her hips, Nihlus knew she was ready.

There was ample lubrication between them already, but the synthetic mix helped ease things along as Nihlus began to enter her. All the time, he continued kissing her and moving slowly. It must have been agonizing for him, too, because Shepard heard him stifle a groan. Her legs drew him in, and she twined her fingers with his. 

As his pelvis finally met hers, Shepard gasped and bucked against him. She didn’t want to wait any longer. Her rocking hips encouraged him to move, and damn was it good when he did. The long strokes Nihlus made dragged in just the right way. “Fuck.”

“Agreed,” he breathed against her lips.

When Shepard felt her pleasure building higher, she wrapped her legs around Nihlus’ waist and squeezed. He groaned and stuttered in his thrusts, making her chuckle. “Should I take over?” she asked, with a sly grin. Without waiting for his answer, she rolled them and climbed over his hips.

As she sunk down, Shepard’s fingers dug into Nihlus’ chest. From this angle, she could feel every inch of him. She shuddered and closed her eyes as she rolled her hips. Nihlus’ hands found her hips to guide her through the motions. By the time she opened her eyes again, she found Nihlus’ glazed and watching her intently.

“Gorgeous,” he said as he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. Shepard knew she was blushing, but with him, it didn’t matter. She didn’t know what they were to one another, and tomorrow, it could all disappear. But right now, there wasn’t anywhere she would rather be. This moment was worth all of those lifetimes. 

Together, they worked toward the edge and crested together. 

She collapsed against his chest, and Nihlus wrapped her in his warmth. He left her only long enough to clean up and pull a blanket over them. Shepard sleepily nuzzled into her partner’s chest and allowed herself to drift off-- if only for a few minutes.

\--

Later, Shepard slowly traced her way up the indentation between two of Nihlus’ plates. Her touch held just enough pressure for him to feel, and it made him shiver as they came down from their exertion. His warm purr disappeared into her hair as he nuzzled in and took a deep inhale of her scent.

"Tired?" he asked, a little sleepily himself.

"No. You get some rest, though. I’ll be here when you wake up." With the end of their mission looming just hours away, Shepard wanted to take all the time she could get.

"Shepard?" Nihlus rolled her onto her back, rising above her on one elbow so he could see her face. His hand cupped her jaw, and his thumb was so warm as he caressed her cheek.

She already knew what he was going to ask. It was the only question she refused to answer: how she died. It didn’t seem right to burden Nihlus, not with the threat of the Reapers and the inevitability of it all. Running wouldn’t change anything. The Collectors would find her even if it wasn’t over the ball of ice and snow.

"Nihlus?" she parroted in the same tone, making him smile as she touched his face in kind. This close, she could see every chip in his colony paint and the intense focus in his gaze.

"You won’t tell me, will you?"

"No, Love. I won’t."

He sighed and leaned down to press his lips against her jaw in an approximation of a kiss. "Even if I beg?" He teased along her throat. "Even if I never let you out of this bed?" His kisses dropped further down toward her collar bones.

Shepard couldn’t help but giggle as his mandibles tickled her neck. "Not even then."

Nihlus stopped short of her breasts and rose to look her in the eyes again, green on brilliant green. His expression had dropped into seriousness, and he held her gaze. "At least tell me it isn’t tomorrow?" he whispered so quietly that she could barely hear him.

"It’s not," she replied with one hand on his shoulder, her fingers digging into his plates to keep him from leaving. "I promise."

He brushed her cheek, and they kissed once more.

Before they could say anything more, Joker’s voice came over the comms.  _ "Five-minutes ETA to the Mu relay." _

“I had better go,” Shepard said as she rose from the warmth of Nihlus’ arms. “Joker always gets antsy for this jump.”

Nihlus hummed, his talons scraping gently along her skin until she was too far away to touch. He watched her dress, and only when she had both boots on did he rise. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close while she put her face against his chest.

“Whatever happens on Ilos,” he said in a near whisper. “I just wanted to say--”

She stopped him with one careful finger over his mouth plates and rose on her toes to kiss his mandible. “Tell me tomorrow,” she whispered. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

\---

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End file.
